Taxation on Sanitary Product Increase The Suffering of Jordanian Women

Although women and girls menstruate for most of their lives, menstrual sanitary products, such as feminine hygiene pads are not considered basic health products in Jordan. This subjects them to taxation, which raises the price of these essential items for girls and women, pushing them sometimes to resort to less expensive alternatives, which could expose them to serious health problems.

“I have three daughters: Sometimes, we have to buy sanitary pads on credit. The owner of the shop is patient with us.” Zahra, a Jordanian woman in her forties, has seven daughters and seven sons, the last of whom was born about a year and a half ago. This is a large family that can barely make a daily living. The head of the family is a daily labourer who works at the local market.

Zahra jokingly says, “They all get their periods on the same day, on the twenty-seventh of every month.” She states that each one may need one or two packs, which means that she needs around six Jordanian Dinars ($8.5) to buy them per month.

Previously, Zahra would get free sanitary pads from a centre near her home in Sweileh, north of the capital Amman. She describes the quality of the feminine pads as “poor, and they fall apart.” Sometimes, she would receive ten Dinars as financial support to attend educational sessions, which she spends on pads. Now, however, she buys baby pads by the kilo and adapts them as sanitary pads for her daughters.

Salma and Suad are pseudonyms for two sisters, the eldest of whom is eighteen years old. They stay at home for days sometimes if they cannot buy sanitary pads.One of them explains, “We try to buy the pads on credit, and I swear to God the shop owner refused to sell them to us lately, because we owe him a lot of money.” They wait for a male family member to buy the pads for them. Until then, the sisters resort to using substitutes like tissue paper or pieces of cloth.

Sanitary pads may seem inexpensive, but it is a burden for families that can barely make ends meet, especially in a country where the poverty rate reached 15.7 percent, according to the latest census conducted in 2018. Three years ago, the World Bank highlighted that the national poverty rate in Jordan may rise by about eleven percentage points to reach 27 percent.

There isn’t a standard price for feminine hygiene pads in the market; we found pads that cost sixty-five piasters ($1), and some that exceed six Dinars ($8.40). Certainly, imposing a sales tax on a basic commodity that is so important for female health would raise its price and sometimes even double it making it unaffordable for many.

Zahra is not the only one who resorts to alternatives, as several women are turning to less expensive options. Aminah (a pseudonym) says, “I would feel embarrassed in front of my mother as my sister and I had to bring strips of cloth, cut them up and wear them, and we would change them the next day. Then, we would sneak up to the roof to wash and dry them.” This process would be repeated several times until the rags dry up, so they could use them again.

Aminah remembers the stinky odour, the chronic infections and itching resulting from wearing the same pad for a whole day. Her suffering stopped after she gave birth and started breastfeeding.

Khashman says that the prices of the pads are high: “It is expensive: We think of it as cheap because we are able to buy them, since we have an economic safety net. In underprivileged areas, in pockets of poverty and refugees camps, this network does not exist; not even food security exists.”

Khashman stresses that a discussion of menstrual products is not limited to feminine pads but extends to many other products and services. The issue of the high cost of sanitary pads and access to them are two of many other issues that affect women’s health, and they all fall under the category of what is known as “period poverty.”

According to “Taqatoaat” team and the United Nations Population Fund, period poverty is a new term: It refers to the lack of access, or inability to access, health products related to and appropriate for the menstrual period; and other similar health services; and to water facilities related to personal hygiene, health education and waste management methods.

Feminist activist Banan Abu Zain Al-Din is the Executive Director of “Taqatoaat” network. She points out that the root of the problem is that feminine pads are not viewed as a basic commodity.

Abu Zain Al-Din explains that sanitary pads are considered commercial and luxury goods, and the proof to that is the high taxes imposed on them. They are not available everywhere and are not categorized as a health care requirement. The fact that they are not available for free in health centres and girls' schools confirms that it is not considered an essential commodity.

According to UNICEF, a woman spends about seven years of her life menstruating. A quick calculation shows that a woman may spend up to 3,000 Jordanian Dinars ($4300),throughout her life on sanitary pads, assuming she may use three to five pads per day. It is worthy to note that the length of the menstrual period, and the blood flow, is different from one woman to another.

The percentage of women whose ages range between 15 and 54 is about 56.1 percent of the total number of women in Jordan.

Abu Zain Al-Din links women's health to their stereotypical or social role: They are not viewed as citizens entitled to health care. Single girls feel excluded because they are afraid to go to maternity and child care centres to avoid the social stigma, because of their young age and the fact that they are not married. Abu Zain Al-Din stresses that women menstruate for most of their lives, especially if we take into account that menstruation may begin as early as seven and eight years of age due to climate change.

We obtained a list of what is considered “essential commodities” from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry: There are fifteen such products, including wheat, barley, buckwheat, bran, sugar and milk. Recently, chicken was added to the list.

Wael Klob is the director of Market Supplies monitoring at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He says that the criterion for selecting basic commodities is based on what is believed to be essential for citizens. The Minister also has the right to request the Council of Ministers to add any other products to the list of basic commodities.

Klob explains that the state monitors the prices of basic commodities and their strategic stockpile directly, and it makes sure supplies quantities could cover at least three months for commodities such as rice, sugar, and one year for wheat and barley.

Economy expert Ra’ed Al-Tal believes that basic commodities are what citizens purchase every day. There are several criteria for determining what form a basic commodity, the most important of which is the level of need for the product and its consumption and health benefit to the citizen.

Governments around the world are trying to exempt these goods from taxes and to make them accessible to people at affordable prices.

Our enquiry with the Jordanian Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed that listing women's pads as “towels, sanitary products, liners, diapers and pads for children” comply with its global classification. A general sales tax of 16 percent and a customs fee of 15 percent are imposed on feminine hygiene pads. This tax could only be amended through a decision by the Council of Ministers.

Tax consultant Doctor Ibrahim Al-Hunaiti explains that the rule is that all goods are subjected to a 16 percent tax, and the rest are exceptions. Al-Hunaiti says that the sales tax and other indirect taxations are unfair because this is passed onto the final consumer. He adds that this is imposed on all classes of society and does not account for the (weak) purchase power of some, their social or economic status. He points out that the Jordanian state’s revenue depends on the sales tax imposed on goods to a large extent.

The sales tax schedules show that there are goods exempted from sales taxes, and goods with reduced taxes.

Al-Hunaiti adds that imposing sales tax on goods will naturally raise the final price of the product and may even double it sometimes. This is in addition to customs fees, which may reach 15 percent on some goods raising their cost further. In this way, the consumer may pay one Dinar for a commodity whose original value at the source would be half a Dinar.

The longer the transport chain gets from the source to the merchants and finally to the consumer, the higher the price become.

Al-Hunaiti previously worked in the tax department: He confirms that the decision to exempt a commodity from taxes or change the value of the tax is in the hands of the Council of Ministers, and comes about as a result of pressure from civil society organizations or the Council of Ministers in efforts to reduce the burden on citizens. Al-Hunaiti explains that it is possible to change the tax on one item only, even within a family of commodities that fall within the same category, without the need to change the classification all the other goods.

A research paper published by “Taqatoaat “ recommends that feminine hygiene pads be classified as a sanitary product, and that they fall under the jurisdiction of the Jordan Food and Drug Administration because commodities that are classified as medicine are subject to a reduced tax rate of 4 percent, with some exceptions. In many countries like the United States, feminine hygiene pads are considered a sanitary product; the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines a medical device/product as “a device intended for diagnosing disease or other conditions, or in the treatment, mitigation, or prevention of disease.”

We contacted the Jordan Food and Drug Administration to find out why sanitary pads are excluded from their list. Their response was that feminine hygiene pads are not medical supplies and are not used for medical purposes; therefore, this definition does not apply to them. Accordingly, any approvals regarding their import and examination would not fall under the authority of the institution.

On the other hand, condoms are analysed for compliance and registered at the Jordan Food and Drug Administration through the Directorate of Medical Supplies. These cannot be allowed into the market before making sure that they conform to international standards and pass a laboratory examination. This also applies to bandages and cotton used in many medical areas.

Additionally, it is difficult to know what goes into the manufacturing of feminine hygiene pads; none of the types available on the market list their composition. We contacted a factory for making sanitary pads and were told that they use fibrous materials made of polyethylene. The absorbent layer consists of porous materials made of wood and polyester fibres. This aligns with the description published online for another type of sanitary pads.

Ahmad Younis is a specialist in women's health, and dermatology. He states that polyethylene is a very common type of plastic which is used in manufacturing sanitary pads and is safe for human use. Younis adds that there are evidence indicating that some health harm may result from plastic materials, but more studies and scientific research in this field are needed, calling for more “oversight”.

Calls for the exemption of women's sanitary towels from sales and commodities taxes are on the rise, and some are calling for the inclusion of feminine hygiene pads as a basic or sanitary requirement. Scotland was the first country to make menstrual products available for free. In the United States, feminine pads are classified as sanitary products and are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration affiliated to the US Department of Health. in India, a 12 percent sales tax used to be imposed on female pads, but these products were exempted from taxes in 2018. In Sudan, sanitary pads are now provided as part of health insurance packages whereby women pay half the cost. Meanwhile, such measures are absent in Jordan.

Reem Khashman who is a researcher and feminist activist, believes that there should be studies that measure the extent of the problem and figures that reflect the reality of the current situation regarding period poverty. She is demanding that sanitary pads be included in the list of medical supplies. Thus, the state becomes responsible for dispensing them in its health centres. Manufacturers would also produce them at a cheaper price, and they would be provided free of charge, similar to services related to reproductive health.

Khashman's demands are not limited to recommendations as she is involved in some recent initiatives when she called on women two months ago, to put sanitary pads in charity parcels. She says “We should not wait for a catastrophe, an earthquake, or refugee influxes to deem how necessary these products are.”

The study, which was conducted by “Taqatoaat”, offers several recommendations: At the top of the list is the inclusion of women's pads under the authority of the Food and Drug Administration; distributing them free of charge in health centres and schools; and giving them to women in the puerperal or postpartum period. This is in addition to reducing sales taxes on them, exempting them and the product components from taxes and allocating funds as part of the national aid to buy menstrual products.

After Aminah gave birth to her first son, she found a way out of menstruation and its necessities through breastfeeding. She will not need to buy feminine pads until further notice. The other women we met, however, will worry about buying pads, replacing them and finding cheap alternatives for years or even decades to come, or until they can obtain them for free, or at least until the state stops taxing a commodity that is anything but a luxury.